White Bay Power Station: An alternative vision for historic buildings

Tracey Pollard

On a recent trip to Sydney, I had the pleasure of paying a visit to the newly opened White Bay Power Station. In terms of history and design, White Bay has many similarities to our own Battersea Power Station – and holds a similar iconic status within the local community – but has taken a very different approach to commercial use.

Rather than a retail and F&B hub, extensive remediation and conservation works have repurposed the site as an arts, cultural and community space. Currently used as a gallery, I was fascinated to note that much of the original machinery remains in situ, offering a unique backdrop to the exhibition – the only Australian power station to retain equipment from pre 1950s. For me, that brought a different dynamic to the experience which could never have been found in a purpose-built space.

As a public building, the need for a return on investment will be measured in more than just financial terms; allowing for a long-term view, which is not always possible in the commercial world.  However, large mixed-use developers or Estate may benefit from the approach adopted at White Bay – using culture to drive footfall and adopting a ‘less is more’ approach to redevelopment. By allowing the building’s history to be celebrated in a sympathetic and cost-effective way, a unique atmosphere has been curated that will live long in the memory for its visitors.

Latest addition to James Street…

Tracey Pollard

We are delighted to have acted for Columbia Threadneedle in the letting to BAO Mary, the latest addition to James Street, the food hub at St Christopher’s Place. Located between Hoppers and Patty and Bun, the amazing team at BAO have created their 6th site, a dumpling heaven in the…

Bruce Gillingham Pollard Appoints Leisure Director

Tracey Pollard

Harry Cody Owen’s promotion to Director has been published by By Paul Norman of CoStar 3 April 2023: UK retail, hospitality and leisure consultancy Bruce Gillingham Pollard has appointed Harry Cody-Owen as a director in its national leisure team. Cody-Owen is a senior national leisure adviser with a focus on…

COMING SOON

Harry Cody-Owen

Tap and Tandoor will be arriving at Westquay, Southampton this month! It will be Westquay’s first Indian offering and specialises in craft beer, cocktails and home-style curries.  You’ll be able to enjoy a casual dining experience with a wide range of quality beers in a relaxed, family friendly environment. The…

NEW OPENING

Alex Todd

Burger and Sauce has opened in the newly refurbished Food Terrace at Derbion Shopping Centre, Derby.

The brand prides itself on offering great value to its customers, without any compromises to the quality of food products on offer. Burger and Sauce was named the winner of Uber Eats Restaurant of the Year 2022 for the Midlands.

This is the 9th Burger and Sauce store to open in the UK and is a fantastic addition to the Food Terrace at Derbion.  Victoria Broadhead secured the letting.

For all Derbion F&B enquiries, please contact Victoria Broadhead or Alex Todd.

Drum

Tracey Pollard

2022 achievements – National Team

Victoria Broadhead

2022 has been a busy year, securing new retail and F&B brands for sites across the country. We thought we would highlight just a small selection of our favourites.

Crown appoints BGP on Regent Street and St James’s leisure

Rupert Bentley-Smith

The Crown Estate has appointed Bruce Gillingham Pollard and Cushman & Wakefield to advise on leisure leasing across its Regent Street and St James’s portfolios in London. BGP Director, Rupert Bentley-Smith, comments: “The Regent Street and St James’s portfolios present opportunities for a tremendous variety of hospitality and leisure offers…

F1 Arcade Confirms Birmingham for its Second Venue

Victoria Broadhead

F1 Arcade, the first Formula 1 licensed premium experiential venue of its kind, is to occupy an 11,000 sq ft unit at Paradise Birmingham, the £1.2bn business, leisure, and residential development in Birmingham. The move marks only the second UK venue for the brand after its first venue in London…

Bruce Gillingham Pollard appoints new Equity Director as Head of Investment

Tracey Pollard

BGP is active across Retail Capital Markets and most recently advised The Ardent Companies UK on its acquisition of the retail element in the landmark Royal Exchange building in the City of London.

Commenting on the appointment, BGP’s Managing Director, Tracey Pollard said: “Jack joined us a graduate in 2012 and it’s been a pleasure to watch his career progress. He has a brilliant work ethic and a strong track record of unlocking complex and lucrative transactions. His varied client base has broadened our Investment instructions, and he is now leading a well-known, well-connected, respected and talented team who are capitalising on current market conditions”.

Other notable London transactions have seen the team advise on the £70m purchase of One Tower Bridge for Redevco, the purchase of Brixton Market on behalf of Hondo Enterprises and Angelo Gordon for £40m, and the £34m acquisition of the Lever Building in London for Merseyside Pension Fund.

Jack Barratt said: “I’m relishing the prospect of leading the team at this time and working towards our next stage of growth.

“The current market provides significant transactional opportunity, and our market leading leasing team help underpin any occupational advice for active asset management and taking advantage of any short to longer term strategies.”

New Starter

Victoria Broadhead

We welcome Rob Barnes who joins BGP as a Graduate Surveyor following the completion of his Real Estate masters degree. He will then go on to sit the APC to become a Chartered Surveyor. Head of the National Leasing team Victoria Broadhead commented: “we are delighted to add Rob to…

Palm House

Thea Rowe

Our friends Incipio have launched their newest concept Palm House in Nova. The Cuban and Miami inspired clubhouse sits across two floors complete with a dedicated daiquiri bar. With the cold creeping in, who doesn’t want to be temporarily transported to warmer climates?! Bruce Gillingham Pollard acted for our clients landsec and Etch  acted on…

Vinoteca opens first outlet outside of London

Victoria Broadhead

Vinoteca has taken a 3,390 sq ft unit in MEPC’s Paradise mixed-use development in Birmingham. The restaurant at Two Chamberlain Square is Vinoteca’s seventh outlet. Vinoteca co-founder Charlie Young said: “Birmingham has always been quick to embrace new food and drink concepts, and we felt this was the perfect setting…

New Associate for Bruce Gillingham Pollard National Leasing Team

Tracey Pollard

Bruce Gillingham Pollard has appointed Lucy Gardiner as an Associate in its National Leasing Team.

Lucy has 10 years of experience across the F&B market and a wide range of knowledge across the UK and excellent relationships with key landlords and brands. These relationships will be vital in her new role working on our LandSec instruction which covers the whole of its UK hospitality portfolio.

Lucy commented: “BGP is a progressive and expanding business. I’m very much looking forward to working with the team and particularly on the Landsec portfolio which has such reach, variety and quality”.

Bruce Gillingham Pollard appoints new Director of London Neighbourhoods Team

Tracey Pollard

BGP has appointed Emily Dumbell as a Director. She has been with the firm since 2012 and, following her recent return from maternity leave, will lead the business’s new London Neighbourhoods team. BGP Managing Director, Tracey Pollard, said: “London neighbourhoods are proving increasingly vibrant as people explore different ways of…

MARK appoints Bruce Gillingham Pollard on Borough Yards project

Tracey Pollard

European private equity real estate investment manager, MARK, has appointed Bruce Gillingham Pollard to advise on retail leasing alongside CBRE at the Borough Yards development in London SE1. The 140,000 sq.ft mixed use scheme, adjacent to the historic Borough Market, is south London’s newest food, retail, leisure and office landmark.…

Journey to Net Zero ♻️

Thea Rowe

BGP are committed to achieving net zero and setting a suitable path to science based targets to help the business achieve this. We are delighted to be part of Grosvenor Net Zero Mentoring Programme alongside green consultancy The Heart of The City. This will enable our business to calculate baseline, set an…

Edward Bulmer Natural Paint to Pimlico Road Design District

Lucy Cope

We are pleased to have worked alongside our client, Grosvenor to bring Edward Bulmer Natural Paint to Pimlico Road Design District.

The design world’s ‘go to’ eco friendly paint brand, pioneering plant based paints made from raw materials reducing the effects on buildings, health, nature and the planet! Their sustainability credentials and brand ethos seamlessly compliment that of existing retailers on the estate that Grosvenor have chosen to partner with, curating a unique and internationally renowned tenant mix.

Edward Bulmer will sit alongside a number of existing brands on the estate including Pinch, Chelsea Textiles, Fermoie, Cox and many more homeware, interior and fabric brands.

The addition of Edward Bulmer Paints paves the way for forthcoming opening of Newson’s Yard which we are super excited about! Newson’s Yard will bring an eclectic mix of new interior brands who will open later this year within the development…

This is an extremely exciting time for the Estate and Pimlico Road Design District and one which we are hugely proud to be part of.

Charlotte Roberts acted on behalf of Grosvenor in securing this letting and Tom Pain acted on behalf of the tenant.

BXR City

Charlotte Roberts

A launch date of all launch dates; on Tuesday 22nd February, BXR launched at 22 Bishopsgate. This really was, and is such a totally unique project to be involved in – a first for London and the UK market delivering the highest gym in Europe in the tallest building in…

Trends

Tracey Pollard

Each year BGP review the themes and drivers impacting our markets and explore how they are shaping the world of retail, F&B and leisure. However, before we look forward, it’s always useful to look back to see how last year’s predications shaped up, so this is a quick recap of…

4 Days to go

Evie North

The growth in neighbourhoods and localism has never been more apparent. We are increasingly seeing some fantastic London centric operators look beyond Central London and out nationally and to the local neighbourhoods. Following the launch of The Ivy Asia, St Pauls at One New Change back in 2019. The Ivy…

5 Days to go

Lucy Cope

This time last year we were thrilled to welcome international renowned London florist McQueens, a global name in luxury floral design to North Audley Street only a stones throw away from Oxford street. Their flagship store situated in the heart of the West End is the UK’s largest floral emporium. The…

6 Days to go

Thea Rowe

The next generation of family clubs Jaego’s House will open in Kensal Rise in May 2022, quite literally something for all the family under one roof. Members will have access to a whole range of services: a jungle gym and soft play; crèche and childminding; Co working office; studio and fitness…

7 Days to go

Tracey Pollard

The growth of the neighbourhoods and localism have been key themes for the last 12 months.  We have experienced an increase in demand for both London neighbourhood locations and nationally, where we’ve seen lots of activity with lettings in Guildford, Windsor, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Birmingham, Reading and Leeds.

The increase in footfall and turnover in our regional towns and Cities has also been identified by our investment team, who have seen a growth in interest from buyers for strong regional locations.

Back in June,  Jack Barrett purchased 72 – 76 Queen Street in Cardiff for £23.25 million on behalf of Topland. He highlighted the importance of occupational advice and in-depth understanding of the market.  At BGP we offer a joined-up approach across our leasing, lease consultancy and investment teams, allowing first-hand market knowledge and insight to support all of our advice.

12 Days to go

Tracey Pollard

The evolution of the retail and restaurants @ haysontheriver_Se1 got underway this year with a summer pop up run by the wonderful team at Bermonseybarkitchen. Due to its continued success, it has morphed twice, once into an autumn designed pop up and now into the most stunning festive winter bar. …

13 Days to go

Thea Rowe

22 Bishopsgate is newest addition to the London Skyline and an incredibly memorable project to be working on. 2021 has seen the opening of this ‘vertical village’ where the office occupants will have access to everything under one roof. From grab & go food to a restaurant, gym to a wellness…

Countdown to Christmas

Tracey Pollard

What a year 2021 has been! Despite the lows of restrictions and lockdowns, there have been some highs and here at Bruce Gillingham Pollard we have been exceptionally busy. SO, we thought it only right to celebrate some of those highs. Over the next 12 days we’ll be sharing with…

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